Monday Move – Step 1: Love

On June 18, 2018, Posted by franklinccc, In CCC News, With Comments Off on Monday Move – Step 1: Love

On June 25, 1967, the Beatles’ song, All You Need is Love, debuted on an international British broadcast called Our World. One of the lyrical lines in this song written by John Lennon is, “you can learn how to play the game.”

Sadly, there are many people throughout history who have approached love and life as a game – even a competition to win or some kind of conquest. This unfortunate approach to love and life has resulted in a confused and misrepresented form of love.

Another John (one of Jesus’ followers) wrote a set of letters in which he wrote about love more than any other topic. In one of his letters, he includes the statement, “God is love” which can provide some clarity around what love really is.

Part 1 (Step 1) of CCC’s Principle of the Path series delved into this idea that God is love and how that reality impacts life in loving God, others, and the world around us.

Take a few minutes to read 1 John 4:7-21 and the next step of considering the following questions about loving God, others, and the world around us.

How would you describe/define “love”?

Why would you say love is so important in our world?

Would say it is important to love God, love others, and love the world around us? Why or why not?

What does it mean that “love comes from God”?

If love comes from God, why do you think we should “continue to love one another”?

How would you describe the difference between “God is loving” and “God is love”?

How does sending Jesus demonstrate God’s love for us?

How is loving others a response to God’s love for us?

What does it mean for God’s love to come to “full expression” in our love for others?

What does it mean to put “trust” in God’s love?

What types of changes does putting our trust in God’s love make in and through us?

Why does living in love cast out fear? What is the difference between healthy and unhealthy fear?

What does it mean someone is a liar if they claim to love God but doesn’t love others?

Does your perspective change if loving others is a command from God? Why or why not?

Is there an area of loving God, others, or the world around you that is challenging for you? What is it?

What next steps will you take to live in love?

People are drawn to love – at least the idea of love. We may get fuzzy on what love is, sometimes equating it with a warm, fuzzy feeling. But what if love is more than a noun and more than a verb? What if love is both because God is love?

Everybody gets somewhere – what if we got somewhere on purpose? What if the “somewhere” is loving God, others and the world around us?